The ownership and use of computers is ubiquitous. Most businesses and homes have at least one computer that utilizes one of several operating systems such as Windows®, UNIX®, Apple® or LINUX®. Over time, computers have improved exponentially in memory size, speed and capability as operating systems have become larger and more sophisticated. Similarly, the development and widespread use of the internet has levered the ever improving capacity of computers by expanding the data available to any computer to a potentially infinite scale by allowing distributed computing.
Historically, conventional computer design has used the computer's operating system itself to manage the operation of a computer's disk drives, peripherals and to access the internet. The management of peripherals and exchange of information with internet based devices is a task that is cumulative to the task of running the user applications which is the primary concern of a user. As a result, today's operating systems have become bloated with unnecessary peripheral drivers, data management instructions and house keeping routines such as disk operation, defragmentation and disk clean-up. Operating systems are also used to control modems, launch web browsers, manage pagefiles, block files and as a platform used to coordinate antivirus protection. The greater functionality of ever more sophisticated and larger operating systems has required larger memory devices and faster microprocessors which in turn require more electrical power.